St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-07-21
SHAkESPEARE'S ASSOCIATION.

A Useful Company Formed by the Great
Dramatist to Take Care of Travellers
Horses.
It is strange that while we are made
acquainted with the smallest facts in
the lives of some great men by means
of numerous biographies, we know al
most nothing of the life of the greatest
poet and dramatist of modern times.
During his life no one valued him sui
ficiently to prepare biography OF
him, and so it is that to-day all the re-
search and curiosity in the world only
enable us to find out a very few of those
minor incidents in his career which
would have been such delightful read
ing.
Every now and then, however, some
student of archaeology, as they call the
people who love to look among old Ii
braries and pull over musty manu-
scripts, finds some allusion to the IA
nous playwright, and we have one
more anecdote to add to our stock.
Some days ago a friend lent me small
storybook by an English author whose
name was quite unknown, and who, l.
fancy, has not many readers on this
side of the Atlantic. But he was
clearly learned and conscientious
author, and among his pages | found
the following anecdote referring to
Shakespeare. 1t was quite new to me,
and fancy, will be so to most of you;
but l feel quite sure that it is true, or
the writer in question would never
have allowed it to appear in his vol
ume.
Among the other things that our lit
tie barefooted Will Shakespeare did in
order to pick up few honest pennies
in the little poverty-stricken town of
Stratford was to wait about the inn in
order to hold the horses of the gentle
men and farmers who rode into the
village on business. In those days,
you know, every one rode on horseback.
There were no wagons and carriages i'll
use, and no roads over which it would
have been possible to drive them had
there been. Every one who could af-
ford it kept riding horse, and, indeed,
without one it would have been impos-
sible for people to go beyond walking
distance. This of course made a
great many horses to be held
on market-days or on any occasion that
brought number of people into town.
Now little Will Shakespeare, who was
in manhood to manage and direct a
theater, had the same head for organi-
cation and management in his boy
hood. He soon organized number of
his friends and schoolmates under him
into an association whose business it
was always to have certain of its
members on hand at the inn and other
prominent places on market-days, and
there to stand ready to take a horses
bride from the rider, see that the
animal was taken to the stable and
cared for if necessary, or only to hold
him quietly until his owner re-appear-
ed. These boys came to be known to
Stratford as ''Will Shakespeare Lads"
Now to show you what stuff was in
our little Will. Not only did he put
this scheme in motion, but he so train
ed and drilled the lads under him in
punctuality, good behavior, respectful
bearing and honesty that the reputa-
ton of them went abroad as being the
most reliable and trustworthy boys in
Stratford. When rider would appear
in the village and a boy came forward
to hold his horse, the common inquiry
was: care you one of Will Shake
speare's lads? l don't want any
other.'
Only to one of these boys trained and
Instructed by little Will would the peo-
pie round about intrust their valuable
horses. Was not that a reputation to
win, boys, and can you not see in it a
prophesy of the success that was to at
tend his efforts later in life?
What William Shakespeare did. he